By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) — Georgians looking to crack open a cold one this Independence Day may be chilled to learn that the state ranks among the states with the highest tax on beer.
According to data compiled by the Tax Foundation, the Peach State ranked ninth for its excise rate per gallon of beer, with a rate of 48 cents per gallon.
Tennessee topped the list at $1.29 per gallon, edging out Alaska, which charges $1.07 per gallon, and Kentucky and Hawaii, which charge 93 cents. At two cents per gallon, Wyoming ranked No. 50, below Missouri, which charges six cents per gallon, and Wisconsin, which also charges six cents.
“Statewide local rates exist,” the Tax Foundation said in its analysis. “Different rates [are] also applicable according to alcohol content, place of production, size of container, or place purchased (on- or off-premise or onboard airlines).”
The beer industry — and particularly changing regulations to help craft brewers — has been a hot topic in the Empire State of the South during recent legislative sessions.
In February, the Georgia Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee did not advance a measure craft brewer advocates said would have allowed them to sell more of their products directly to consumers, marking the second year in a row the push has died.
Senate Bill 163 would have allowed “small brewers” to distribute up to 3,000 cases per year to retailers within a 100-mile radius without contracting with a distributor and allow brewers and brewpubs to donate products for charitable events.
